National Intercollegiate Rugby Association

National Intercollegiate
Rugby Association

Abbreviation| NIRA
Formation| 2015; 9 years ago (2015)
Legal status| Association

Region served

| United States

Official language

| English

Commissioner

| Amy Rusert

Main organ

| Board of Directors
Website| nira.rugby

The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) is a governing body of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) collegiate women's rugby programs in the United States founded in 2015.

## History[edit]

The NIRA traces roots back to 2015 when eight NCAA member institutions formed the National Collegiate Varsity Women’s Rugby Association (NCVWRA) to organize collegiate competition and aid in the promotion of rugby at the varsity level in the NCAA after rugby was promoted to Emerging Sport status.[1][2]

Inaugural members of the association included Army, Bowdoin, Brown, Central Washington, Harvard, Norwich, Quinnipiac, and West Chester. Membership in the organization is limited to NCAA institutions who sponsor women’s rugby at the varsity level.[2] In 2016 the association became known as the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA).[3]

## Members[edit]

As of November, 2023:[4]

### Division I[edit]

Club  | Location  | Nickname  | Type  | Joined  | Coach

|
|
|
|
|

Army West Point | West Point, New York | Black Knights | Service Academy | 2018 | Bill LeClerc
Brown University | Providence, Rhode Island | Bears | Private | 2018 | Kathy Flores
Dartmouth College | Hanover, New Hampshire | Big Green | Private | 2018 | Katie Dowty
Harvard University | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Crimson | Private | 2018 | Mel Denham
Long Island University | Brooklyn / Brookville, NY | Sharks | Private | 2018 | Colleen Doherty
Mount St. Mary's University | Emmitsburg, Maryland | Mountaineers | Private | 2018 | Farrah Douglas
Quinnipiac University | Hamden, Connecticut | Bobcats | Private | 2018 | Becky Carlson
Sacred Heart University | Fairfield, Connecticut | Pioneers | Private | 2018 | Michelle Reed

### Division II[edit]

Club  | Location  | Nickname  | Type  | Joined  | Coach

|
|
|
|
|

American International College | Springfield, Massachusetts | Yellow Jackets | Private | 2018 | Tara Roberts
Davenport University | Michigan | Panthers | Private |  |
Emory and Henry College | Emory, Virginia | Wasps | Private |  |
Frostburg State University | Frostburg, Maryland | Bobcats | Public |  |
Lander University | Greenwood, South Carolina | Bearcats | Public |
Newberry College | Newberry, South Carolina | Wolves |  |
University of New Haven | West Haven, Connecticut | Chargers | Private |
Queens University of Charlotte | Charlotte, North Carolina | Royals | Private | 2019 | Katie Wurst
West Chester University | Chester County, Pennsylvania | Golden Rams | Public | 2018 | Tony Deremer

### Division III[edit]

Club  | Location  | Nickname  | Type  | Joined  | Coach

|
|
|
|
|

Bowdoin College | Brunswick, Maine | Polar Bears | Private | 2018 | MaryBeth Mathews
Castleton University | Castleton, Vermont | Spartans | Public | 2018 | Frank Graziano
Colby–Sawyer College | New London, New Hampshire | Chargers | Private | 2018 | Ken Pape
Guilford College | Greensboro, North Carolina | Quakers | Private | 2020 | Emily Record
Manhattanville College | Purchase, New York | Valiants | Private | 2020 | TBD
New England College | Henniker, New Hampshire | Pilgrims | Private | 2019 | Tom Campbell
Norwich University | Northfield, Vermont | Cadets | Private | 2018 | Austin Hall
University of New England | Biddeford, Maine | Nor'easters | Private | 2018 | Ashley Potvin-Fulford
Warren Wilson College | Swannanoa, NC | Owls | Private |  |

## Championship finals[edit]

### Division I[edit]

Ed.  | Year  | Winner  | Score  | Runner-up  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

| 2015 | Quinnipiac (1) |

24–19

| Army | [5]

| 2016 | Quinnipiac (2) |

46–24

| Central Washington |

| 2017 | Quinnipiac (3) |

29–20

| Dartmouth |

| 2018 | Dartmouth (1) |

19–14

| Harvard | [6]

| 2019 | Harvard (1) |

18–7

| Army | [7]

| 2020 |

(not held due to covid-19 pandemic)

| 2021 | Dartmouth (2) |

28–18

| Army | [8][9]

| 2022 | Dartmouth (3) |

15–10

| Harvard | [9][10]

| 2023 | Harvard (2) |

20–12

| Dartmouth | [11]

### Division II[edit]

* 2019 – West Chester 15–14 Brown[12]
* 2018 – Mount St. Mary's 22–15 Sacred Heart[13]
* 2017 – University of New England 57–14 Bowdoin
* 2016 – Bowdoin College 32–22 University of New England

### Division III[edit]

* 2019 – Bowdoin College 27–5 University of New England [14]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Emerging Sports for Women". www.ncaa.org. NCAA. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
2. ^ a b Young, Wendy (September 11, 2014). "National Collegiate Varsity Women's Rugby Association (NCVWRA) Formed". Your Scrumhalf Connection. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
3. ^ "Women's Intercollegiate Season Starts with 2015 Final Rematch". Goff Rugby Report. Aug 31, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-02. "What was the NCWVRA [National Collegiate Women's Varsity Rugby Association] is now the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association."
4. ^ Teams at NIRA website, 27 Nov 2023
5. ^ Finlan, Jackie (November 22, 2015). "Quinnipiac, First Varsity Champion". The Goff Rugby Report. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
6. ^ "Dartmouth Claims Program's First NIRA Championship". USA Rugby. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
7. ^ "Women's Rugby Crowned NIRA National Champions After Victory Over Army West Point, 18–7". Harvard Athletics. Archived from the original on 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
8. ^ Hanover for Second Time By: Charlotte Brackett, 20 Nov 2021
9. ^ a b Women's Rugby to Host Two-Time Defending NIRA Champion Dartmouth at Goprincetontigers, 23 Sep 2023
10. ^ Big Green Repeat as Division I NIRA Champions at darthmouthsports.com, 19 Nov 2022
11. ^ Champions! #1 Women's Rugby Captures 2023 NCAA DI Championship With 20-12 Win Against #2 Dartmouth at Gocrimson.com
12. ^ @NIRArugby (November 17, 2019). "Brown in possession but it's not enough. Final WCU 15 Brown 14" (Tweet) - via Twitter.
13. ^ "CHAMPIONS! Mount Women's Rugby Holds off Sacred Heart, 22-15, for the NIRA Tier II Championship - Mount St. Mary's". Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
14. ^ "Women's Rugby Runs Away From UNE to Claim NIRA Division III Title". Bowdoin Athletics. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2021-10-15.

## External links[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

National Intercollegiate Rugby Association

Division 1|

* Army Black Knights
* Brown Bears
* Dartmouth Big Green
* Harvard Crimson
* Long Island Sharks
* Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers
* Navy Midshipmen
* Princeton Tigers
* Quinnipiac Bobcats
* Sacred Heart Pioneers

Division 2|

* American International Yellow Jackets
* Molloy Lions
* New Haven Chargers
* Notre Dame College Falcons
* Post Eagles
* Queens Royals
* West Chester Golden Rams

Division 3|

* Bowdoin Polar Bears
* Colby–Sawyer Chargers
* Guilford Quakers
* Manhattanville Valiants
* New England College Pilgrims
* Norwich Cadets
* University of New England Nor'easters
* Vermont State Castleton Spartans

Future teams|

* Adrian Bulldogs

* v
* t
* e

Rugby union in the United States

Governing body|

* USA Rugby

Geographical Unions|

* Capital
* Carolinas
* Empire
* Eastern Pennsylvania
* Florida
* Mid-America
* New England
* Northern California
* Pacific Northwest
* Rocky Mountain
* Southern California
* Texas
* True South

National teams|

| Men's|

* Eagles
* USA Falcons
* All Americans
* U-20
* U-19
* 7s

|

Women's|

* Women's
* 7s

Competitions|

| International|

* U.S. at the Rugby World Cup
* Americas Rugby Championship
* Global Rapid Rugby

|

Domestic|

* Major League Rugby
* Women's Premier League Rugby
* Premier Rugby Sevens
* USA Rugby Club 7s
* Midwest Rugby Premiership
* Pacific Rugby Premiership
* National Rugby Football League

College|

| Bodies|

* NCR
* NIRA

|

Conferences|

* Colonial Coast
* East Coast
* Heart of America
* Ivy
* Northeast
* PAC
* Potomac
* Red River
* Southeastern

Competitions|

* Division 1-A
* Results
* NCR Champions Cup
* NCR Nationals
* Collegiate Championship (7s)
* USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships (7s)

Hosted events|

* 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens
* Americas Rugby Championship
* USA Sevens
* USA Women's Sevens

Defunct|

* Bowl Series
* Atlantic Coast League
* Churchill Cup
* Elite Cup
* North America 4
* Pacific Rim Championship
* PRO Rugby
* Rugby Super League
* Varsity Cup

Related articles|

* American flag rugby
* History
* First match
* International players
* Comparison with American football
* Rugby union in American Samoa
* Rugby union in Guam
* Rugby union in the US Virgin Islands
* Stanford rugby teams (1906–17)
* USA Rugby South

* Category
* Commons

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